Hi, Android! Sorry your present is a little late, it took a while to wrap it. Five years ago yesterday, Google's then-CEO Eric Schmidt joined other members of the newly-formed Open Handset Alliance to announce the Android operating system. Back then, we were still nearly a year away from an actual Gphone (and yes, people really called it that) and Sprint and T-Mobile were the only US carriers even interested. Now, Android is installed on over 400 million devices, nearly every carrier in the world wants a piece of the action, and the platform as a whole is the single largest mobile OS ever.

Oh, Android. How far you've come since the days of the G1. Actually, tomorrow, October 22nd, will mark 3 years to the day that Android has been available on consumer handsets in the United States, and the G1 on T-Mobile was concepción.

With Ice Cream Sandwich finally revealed, Android has gone through its seventh major iteration. How has Android changed? What better way to illustrate Android's evolution than its home screen, the hub of user interaction.

We all remember the T-Mobile Sidekick. It was the phone to have back before smartphones were a normal, everyday thing. It was the phone that did all the smartphone-y things first. It was built for one main purpose, though; messaging like a demon. It was all about staying in contact with your friends, shooting out emails, and texting all the time, no matter how fast you were driving. It did that job, and it did it damn well.

It seems appropriate since the G1, the phone that kicked off the Android revolution, was killed off a few weeks ago, and since T-Mobile is about to introduce their first HSPA+ capable device, that they would call this device the G2. Well, after countless rumors about a G2 (starting a few hours after the G1's launch), the device has finally been announced on T-Mobile's HSPA+ site.

That's right, the G2 is official, will be the first phone to utilize T-Mobile's 4G-like HSPA+ network, and will have its specs handed out to the media and a select group of people "over the coming weeks." These are exciting times ahead of us, folks, so stay tuned to Android Police for lots more coverage on the G2 and other upcoming Android devices.

Get ready for another scoop of blue Froyo: CyanogenMod 6 has just been updated to RC3 for the Nexus One, Droid, Droid Incredible, Dream (G1) and Sapphire (myTouch 3G), RC2 for the EVO, and was just released as RC1 for the myTouch 3G Slide and Hero CDMA.

Looking for an easy way to root your Android Device? Universal Androot may just be what the doctor ordered. The one-click root fadseems to be catching on and Universal Androot is an app that covers multiple Android devices, making it easier for those who may be reluctant experience the mighty wonders of root.

Universal Androot is the simplest root/unroot method I have seen to date and probably the safest - it has been confirmed as working by multiple users (apparently it uses the same exploit used to 1-click root the Motorola Droid X).

The world’s first Android phone, the T-Mobile G1 (based on the HTC Dream platform), has officially been discontinued today. It is no longer available via T-Mobile’s website.

More than anything, this marks the beginning of the end for the first-generation flagship Android devices, as phones running Android 1.5 and 1.6 are slowly phased out of the Android ecosystem—reducing version fragmentation, and allowing developers and users alike to move away from obsolete software.

CyanogenMod users rejoice: Cyanogen and the CM team are continuing to work feverishly to get CyanogenMod 6 into official release territory.

CyanogenMod 6 Release Candidate 2 ROMs for the Nexus One (and unofficially, the Droid), Dream, Magic, G1, and the MyTouch 3G are now available for download, along with Release Candidate 1 for the HTC EVO 4G.

Nexus One/Droid

Nexus One CM6 RC2 Download links (This will work on a Motorola Droid as well, see this CM forum post):

If you have not heard yet, Cyanogen and gang have finally released CyanogenMod 5 for your G1/Mytouch 3G. If you are new to using ROMs, make sure to follow the instructions carefully, so you don't brick your phone. Anyone who has used ROMs, whether Cyanogen’s or not, also needs to follow the instructions as you will need to install DangerSPL which has bricking potential (unless you already have it installed).